Summary
Filled with plenty of heart and laughs, this week’s episode is a fun introduction to Mob Psycho 100’s Telepathy Club Mini-Arc.
We recap the Crunchyroll anime series Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 7, “Transmission 1 ~Winter Break~” which contains spoilers.
It’s safe to say fans are probably still recovering after last week’s emotional conclusion to The Divine Tree Arc. This week sees the beginning of a new chapter in Mob’s (voiced by Setsuo Ito) life as his final year of middle school slowly begins to wind down. Even Tome (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki) is feeling it, realizing the club she spent all her time in has never actually accomplished anything.
This newest episode feels like the perfect way to ease fans into the second half of the season and really bring things home for Mob as he slowly transitions away from his life at Salt Middle School.
Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 7 recap
It’s almost winter break for the kids of Salt Middle School. The homeroom teacher informs the third-year students that it will be time to take high school entrance exams when they return.
During an emergency Telepathy Club meeting, Tome is upset over the fact that the club will likely be disbanded once she graduates. She tries to encourage the remaining male members to care more, but they’re satisfied with the memories they’ve already made. As they list fond memories of trivial activities like playing cards, Tome begins to cry as she realizes they’re never made any real progress in their telepathy research. For the first time, the group realizes that telepathy and alien communication are subjects that Tome is genuinely passionate about. They’re sure she can try again in high school, but she says she can’t imagine accomplishing her goals without anyone other than them.
Tome asks the others how they really feel about telepathy, but no one is able to come up with an honest answer. After a long sigh, Tome leaves the room, disbanding the club just before she exits. She thanks the boys, who sit in awe and try to decide what to do now.
Mob’s lying on his bedroom floor when Ritsu comes in to tell him he has visitors. He asks if Mob is okay or still worried about Dimple, but Mob responds that he was only spacing out.
Outside are Haruto, Mameta, and Shirihiko of the Telepathy Club, who beg Mob to help them by using his powers. After explaining what happened earlier with Tome, Mob apologizes, saying he cannot help them. Ritsu volunteers a few guys he knows and takes the club to the park to meet the Shiratori brothers – a set of twins with telepathic powers.
It seems to be a bust when the brothers aren’t able to help, either. Their telepathic abilities only work between the two of them; however, if they can find a stronger person to boost their powers, they may be able to make contact with some stronger telepaths in range. While they can’t send specific messages, they can send special vibrations out that resonate with other telepaths. The one downside to this tactic is that there is a good chance it will attract an unknown stranger, but they agree to the idea in hopes that it will raise Tome’s spirits.
Everyone gathers in the club room, and the Shiratori brothers begin sending out their signal, with Mob’s powers increasing their reach. He holds back at first, as his powers seem almost too strong for the brothers to handle, but they encourage him to keep amplifying the reach with his power despite their pain.
Suddenly a tennis club student pops in. They recognize him as Takenaka, a former member of the Telepathy Club. He says he popped into the room with intentions to ditch his own club practice, but now he’s curious to know what they’re up to. After they explain, he laughs hysterically at them for taking the telepathy nonsense so seriously.
With Takenaka in the room, Mob and the brothers try to send out their signal again. The stronger Mob’s power grows, the more uncomfortable several of the other boys in the room seem to become – specifically Takenaka. He doesn’t understand why they’re not embarrassed before slamming his fist down on the table, demanding Mob and the brothers stop what they’re doing.
“I was five years old when I realized I was different,” Takenaka begins. He explains that as a child, he realized he could read the thoughts of others, but after making his mother cry, he also learned it was something he wasn’t supposed to do. The powers are often more trouble than they’re worth as he hears the thoughts of others even when he doesn’t want to. He describes the powers as unbearable. By third grade, he learned he also could project his own thoughts onto others. He used to do it every day but eventually gave it up using his powers altogether. By wearing earplugs, he thought he had found a way to suppress his abilities, at least until he heard their signal today.
The boys of the Telepathy Club admit that they were looking for a telepath, so it seems their ritual worked after all. They ask Takenaka to help them, but he refuses, saying they never cared about telepathy anyway. He goes to leave, but Mob stops him, wondering if the reason he joined the Telepathy Club is that he was looking for someone he could relate to. When he didn’t find that, he left and lost all hope. He does not want to be used now, and Mob says he’s fine to go but expresses that he understands how Takanaka feels first. He also considers his powers a burden but uses them because he enjoys helping people. Takenaka supposes he can help this once if only to stop the noise.
Before he leaves, Ritsu asks Takenaka if he read Mob’s mind just now before agreeing, but he says no. In return, Takenaka wonders if Ritsu sometimes feels insecure about his ability to understand his brother. Ritsu is shocked at the idea his mind revealed that, but Takenaka laughs and says he was able to pick up on that without using his powers.
Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 7 ending
At the Spirits and Such office, Reigen sells some questionable merch to a patron. He and Serizawa chat about his studies before Reigen asks the other male if he wants to get drinks after work to celebrate the holiday. To Reigen’s disappointment, Serizawa already seems to have plans. However, Mob calls and asks if he has New Year’s Eve plans instead. When he doesn’t have plans, Mob convinces Reigen to rent a car and drive his friends on an alien scouting trip in the mountains.
Reigen agrees to go. However, Tome does not. No matter how much the Telepathy Club tries to convince her, she refuses in favor of studying for entrance exams. They hope they can convince her before the day comes, but she suddenly stops answering their calls.
On New Year’s Eve morning, Reigen accidentally wakes up late when his alarm clock dies, causing him to run behind. As the boys of the Telepathy Club and Mob walk towards the meet-up spot, they run into Tome, who changed her mind about tagging along.
When she asks about the “supposed telepath” coming to join them, the boys realize no one has informed her about Takenaka. He shows up thirty minutes late himself and explains to Tome that he is actually the telepath they’re waiting for. Thinking they’re messing with her, Tome grows upset, but the boys drag her to the parking lot to meet Reigen before she can fully question it.
The episode ends with all of the boys and Tome in the car on the way to the mountains. Takenaka is nervous, but Tome still refuses to believe he has powers.
Although a filler, this episode was far more fun than expected. The pacing was good, so it never felt too slow, and it managed to progress the story well, even introducing us to some interesting new characters. It’ll be no surprise if things pick up next week now that the foundation for this new arc has been laid.
What did you think of Mob Psycho 100 season 1, episode 7? Comment below.
